By Sean Coughlan BBC News Magazine Supermarkets are starting to take seriously the message about healthy eating, but what of the Great British corner shop? With so many warnings about obesity, many continue to offer a mountain of crisps and chocolate.
By Sean Coughlan BBC News Magazine Supermarkets are starting to take seriously the message about healthy eating, but what of the Great British corner shop? With so many warnings about obesity, many continue to offer a mountain of crisps and chocolate.
I'm standing in the local corner shop. There's a jumble of magazines and newspapers - including a cover feature about a radical diet plan. You can hardly open a newspaper without a warning about the "obesity epidemic".
I'm standing in the local corner shop. There's a jumble of magazines and newspapers - including a cover feature about a radical diet plan. You can hardly open a newspaper without a warning about the "obesity epidemic".
But if you want to buy your healthy-living magazine, it means reaching over a wall of confectionery at the counter. There are five separate shelves, each holding 26 different types of chocolate or sweets.
But if you want to buy your healthy-living magazine, it means reaching over a wall of confectionery at the counter. There are five separate shelves, each holding 26 different types of chocolate or sweets.
On the adjacent wall there are shelves holding 47 different types of sugary drink and a comprehensive colour palate of crisp flavours. The sweets and drinks have also begun to cross-breed - as some chocolate brands are also available in liquid form.
On the adjacent wall there are shelves holding 47 different types of sugary drink and a comprehensive colour palate of crisp flavours. The sweets and drinks have also begun to cross-breed - as some chocolate brands are also available in liquid form.
Food deserts
Food deserts
That's not forgetting a fluorescent wall of cereal boxes and the beer and wine... and cakes and biscuits that are so well-preserved they can last a whole year.
That's not forgetting a fluorescent wall of cereal boxes and the beer and wine... and cakes and biscuits that are so well-preserved they can last a whole year.
A third of men will be obese by the end of the decade
A third of men will be obese by the end of the decade
Against this nutritious background, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is going to issue national guidelines this week on tackling obesity.
Against this nutritious background, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is going to issue national guidelines this week on tackling obesity.
Once again there will be calls for a healthier lifestyle. But if your family is eating what's on sale in many corner shops, it's not going to be easy.
Once again there will be calls for a healthier lifestyle. But if your family is eating what's on sale in many corner shops, it's not going to be easy.
And, glancing around the shelves, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that the Department of Health is forecasting that there will be 12 million obese adults by the end of the decade. This means that a scales-busting 33% of men and 28% of women will be obese.
And, glancing around the shelves, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that the Department of Health is forecasting that there will be 12 million obese adults by the end of the decade. This means that a scales-busting 33% of men and 28% of women will be obese.
If the health campaigners have been trying to civilise the nation's eating habits, then the corner shop remains an untamed frontier. And for those that depend on them - mostly the poor, the elderly and those without transport - there has been talk of "food deserts".
If the health campaigners have been trying to civilise the nation's eating habits, then the corner shop remains an untamed frontier. And for those that depend on them - mostly the poor, the elderly and those without transport - there has been talk of "food deserts".
In response the Department of Health has been holding meetings with retailers' representatives to see how healthier choices could be introduced.
In response the Department of Health has been holding meetings with retailers' representatives to see how healthier choices could be introduced.
Stock market
Stock market
So why don't more corner shops stock fresh fruit and vegetables?
So why don't more corner shops stock fresh fruit and vegetables?
Despite all the health advice, only 8% have changed their diets
Despite all the health advice, only 8% have changed their diets
"It's more effort to stock fruit and vegetables and there's likely to be more wastage," says Richard Dodd, spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium, which has been in talks with the health department.
"It's more effort to stock fruit and vegetables and there's likely to be more wastage," says Richard Dodd, spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium, which has been in talks with the health department.
While the big supermarket chains have sufficient customers and buying power to stock a wide range of fresh products - the small shopkeeper runs the risk of being stuck with unsold vegetables. Tinned food, sweets and long-life snacks are much lower maintenance than fresh produce.
While the big supermarket chains have sufficient customers and buying power to stock a wide range of fresh products - the small shopkeeper runs the risk of being stuck with unsold vegetables. Tinned food, sweets and long-life snacks are much lower maintenance than fresh produce.
"What's come out of these meetings is that smaller retailers want the government to help in training about healthier options - knowing what to stock, how to store it, how to get stock levels right, how to display it, information about supply chains," says Mr Dodd.
"What's come out of these meetings is that smaller retailers want the government to help in training about healthier options - knowing what to stock, how to store it, how to get stock levels right, how to display it, information about supply chains," says Mr Dodd.
But he warns that it's also about what consumers want to buy. If people want to eat snacks, that's what shops are going to sell them.
But he warns that it's also about what consumers want to buy. If people want to eat snacks, that's what shops are going to sell them.
"Neither the government nor stores can force people to change their diets... in the end it's down to individuals."
"Neither the government nor stores can force people to change their diets... in the end it's down to individuals."
And suggesting a credibility gap in the shift to healthier living - a report from market analysts says that in the past four year, only 8% of people have moved to a healthier diet, about the same number as have moved to a less healthy diet.
And suggesting a credibility gap in the shift to healthier living - a report from market analysts says that in the past four year, only 8% of people have moved to a healthier diet, about the same number as have moved to a less healthy diet.
Free fruit
Free fruit
You also can't re-invent the past. Old-style greengrocers shops, smelling of brown paper and potatoes, with boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables, have long since disappeared from many local High Streets. Now there's a line of take-aways, estate agents, off-licences, cheque cashers and cafes.
You also can't re-invent the past. Old-style greengrocers shops, smelling of brown paper and potatoes, with boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables, have long since disappeared from many local High Streets. Now there's a line of take-aways, estate agents, off-licences, cheque cashers and cafes.
This healthy heart promotion warns against the snacking culture
This healthy heart promotion warns against the snacking culture
Buying a fresh apple is going to be trickier than borrowing money, getting drunk or swigging lattes.
Buying a fresh apple is going to be trickier than borrowing money, getting drunk or swigging lattes.
So how could the healthy-eating message be brought back to the corner shop?
So how could the healthy-eating message be brought back to the corner shop?
The Royal College of Physicians proposes direct intervention, arguing that corner shops should be "given incentives to sell fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy foods and snacks".
The Royal College of Physicians proposes direct intervention, arguing that corner shops should be "given incentives to sell fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy foods and snacks".
And putting this into practice, in Scotland the health department is running a pilot scheme promoting fresh food in convenience stores - aimed at improving the diets of the rural and urban poor.
And putting this into practice, in Scotland the health department is running a pilot scheme promoting fresh food in convenience stores - aimed at improving the diets of the rural and urban poor.
This has tested ideas such as giving a free piece of fruit to children accompanying their parents on a shopping trip, putting healthy food near the checkout and having "meal deals" for healthy food.
This has tested ideas such as giving a free piece of fruit to children accompanying their parents on a shopping trip, putting healthy food near the checkout and having "meal deals" for healthy food.
High street
High street
There has also been research suggesting that people will change their shopping habits when more fresh food becomes available.
There has also been research suggesting that people will change their shopping habits when more fresh food becomes available.
Doctors have called for incentives for shops to sell more fresh produce
Doctors have called for incentives for shops to sell more fresh produce
This has been boosted by the arrival on the High Street and in petrol stations of the cut-down or "express" version of supermarkets, which bring a much wider range of produce to a local level.
This has been boosted by the arrival on the High Street and in petrol stations of the cut-down or "express" version of supermarkets, which bring a much wider range of produce to a local level.
A study from the University of Southampton reports that shoppers were more likely to buy fresh fruit and vegetables from these walking-distance mini-supermarkets.
A study from the University of Southampton reports that shoppers were more likely to buy fresh fruit and vegetables from these walking-distance mini-supermarkets.
But standing in the corner shop, there's no avoiding the gap between the reality and the rhetoric on healthy living. If you'd been scanning the papers on the newsrack, there have been more than 80 stories mentioning obesity in the national papers in the last week alone.
But standing in the corner shop, there's no avoiding the gap between the reality and the rhetoric on healthy living. If you'd been scanning the papers on the newsrack, there have been more than 80 stories mentioning obesity in the national papers in the last week alone.
Reach out your hand in any direction and you might see why.
Reach out your hand in any direction and you might see why.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
People are too quick to blame others for their own lack of self discipline, it is unfortunately a symptom of the current trend of abdication of personal responsibilty... after all it's not your fault that you ate five bags of sweeties today, it must be the shop owners' fault for selling them to you.Mike Brown, Brentwood
Of course corner shops are not going to offer the kind of low fat, low calorie stock the people want... for one reason: low profit! They simply will not waste their money on things that will take much longer to sell, take more of an effort to appear more sellable and basically cost more than a box of chocolate bars or pallet of coke. Why can't people understand this?Marc, Derbyshire
When my kids want a treat at the local shop, I get them a pack of nuts - cashews for a real treat. They are high in fat, but it's "good" fat, and they are otherwise highly nutritious. And most of the shops sell pure juices and even smoothies, so all it takes is a bit of effort...peter cullinane, London
We have a newsagent/cornershop on the street where the company I work for occupy nearly all the buildings. It is full of all the tasty treats that we know are bad for us but if you want fruit or a slightly healthier option you have to walk into the city centre. This can be frowned upon by management when you return 35mins later after announcing you are just nipping to the shop! Given the option I would choose fruit over crisps etc.Nathan Drake, Norwich
The corner shop across the road from where I work has started stocking fresh fruit in the past six months. The fruit is always (without exception) old and bruised, and tastes vile. It annoys me that they make this token gesture without putting any real effort into it.Robert Phillips, Cardiff
